Mystery of Abduba Dida’s double appointment

 It is now emerging that President Uhuru Kenyatta and Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru made parallel appointments of Abduba Dida as the chairman of the Constituencies Development Fund.

Following the appointed of the same person in two separate Gazette Notices on different dates, questions are arising as to whether there is a communication breakdown in the Jubilee administration.

Queries are also being raised as to whether the President and his Cabinet are getting sound legal advice.

Ms Waiguru appointed Dida on December 27, 2013, through Gazette Notice Vol. CXV-No.181 while the President made the same appointment on December 31, 2013, four days later, through Gazette Notice Vol CXV-183.

The two Gazette notices refer “powers conferred by Section 5 (4) of the CDF Act 2013” in making the appointments.  However, both the President’s and Cabinet Secretary’s appointments were irregular.

Under the CDF Act 2013, it is only the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters dealing with CDF (Devolution Ministry in this case) who has powers to appoint a chair of the board, but that appointment is restricted as the chair has to come from among members of the CDF Board, who also must have been vetted by Parliament.

The Devolution Secretary has since moved to correct her mistakes and revoked the appointment through Special Gazette Notice Vol. CVX-No.3 of January 3, 2014. The President is yet to rescind his appointment but sources indicate it will be done by Friday.

The notice signed by Waiguru stated: “It is notified for the information to the general public that Gazette Notice No. 15728 of 2013, issued under section 5 (4) of the Constituency Development Fund Act stands revoked.”

Dida’s appointment sparked outrage with MPs accusing President Uhuru of violating the law by appointing him. This is the second time the Jubilee administration has been embarrassed by being forced to withdraw an appointment due to public pressure.

Last year, the President was forced to withdrew the gazettement of former Naivasha MP John Mututho as chairman of the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug and Substance Abuse since he made the appointment unprocedurally.

RUTO’S DEFENCE

Yesterday, Deputy President William Ruto defended the revocation of Dida’s appointment as chairman of the CDF. Ruto said the decision was arrived at after realizing the appointment of the former teacher-turned-politician did not follow due process.

He said the President had revoked the appointment to allow the vetting process by Parliament as required by the law.

“This is not the first time the President has had to revoke an appointment, last year we saw him withdraw the name of Nacada boss John Muthuto and we saw the man who is really passionate about his job get his post after vetting by Parliament,” Mr Ruto said.

The Deputy President revealed that Dida would get the job once all the legal processes are finalised to pave the way for his gazettement.

Nyamira Senator Mong’are Bwo Okong’o and Lugari MP Ayub Savula welcomed the move by the President to revoke the appointment of Dida saying that will allow due process to take its course.

Okong’o challenged Kenyatta to seek wider consultation before making civil service appointments as revocating them was costly and likely to damage his reputation.

“It is important the President has realised he erred in the appointment and has decided to correct it, which is a good gesture, but he should in future receive proper legal advice before making appointments,” Okongo told The Standard.

Savula said Attorney General Githu Muigai had failed in his duty as legal adviser to the government and by extension had embarrassed the President.

He said the President violated the CDF Act, which requires that the Cabinet Secretary for Devolution forward three names to parliament for approval before picking one from the list

 “We are not against anyone taking up positions in government but the law is clear on the procedure of making appointments with regard to chairpersons of parastatals, and that must be followed,” Savula said.

The chairman of the National Assembly’s CDF committee, Moses Lessonet, asked the government to speed up the appointment of the CDF board chairman so as not to affect the disbursement of money to constituencies as the seat is vacant.

“The President appointed Dida and then revoked the appointment of Ms Jennifer Nafula Barasa, meaning the position is currently vacant,” the Eldama Ravine MP said.

The chief executive officer takes over in an acting capacity in the absence of the board chair but cannot approve disbursements to constitution.

-www.standardmedia.co.ke

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Comedy King Churchill reveals his greatest regret in 2013

Churchill’s greatest regret in 2013 Most of us view celebrities as ‘super humans’. Probably due to their lavish lifestyles and almost picture perfect lives.  However, they too have skeletons in their closets. Recently comedian Daniel Ndambuki aka Churchill confessed to have made ‘big’ mistakes last year. He claimed on his FB page to have ‘trusted the wrong people.’

“What is your biggest regret of 2013? Mine was trusting people who I shouldn’t have,” he wrote. This came after he asked his fans to express their 2013 regrets. These sentiments left Heads Up wondering who exactly shortchanged the comedian.
-The Nairobian

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The King’ gives Nairobi 6,000 condoms a week

His name did not appear in the long list of nominees for presidential awards during the Golden Jubilee celebrations on December 12. But this Nairobian, crowned ‘King of Condoms’, has probably saved hundreds of lives with his simple message: ‘Use Protection’. Stanley Ngara eats, walks and talks condoms, and wherever he speaks, on proper use of the protective sheaths, he leaves behind an incredible mark, at least according to many who know him. Ngara, a programme officer with Liverpool VCT, has for 11 years been teaching Kenyans about safe sex since he was crowned ‘King of Condom’ three years ago. Armed with thousands of condoms and his eloquent message for Nairobians, Ngara has managed to get the ears of many.
In a week, he distributes about 6,000 condoms and convinces many others to buy them in shops and pharmacies. “We need to believe in condoms and take them with faith and attitude like the one we have on umbrellas when it rains,” he told The Nairobian. His message is laced with humour and packaged according to the audience’s status besides involving them in stunning practical lessons. His peculiar attire and crown amuses his listeners. “I thought of this idea after I established that when you do the same thing with same people you get same results. Innovation and fresh tactics help in driving the message home,” he said. On November 19 at a city hotel, he tutored CEOs drawn from public and private sector on condom usage and he got a rare standing ovation.
 “Many of us don’t know how to use and handle the condoms properly while others think they interfere with emotions and ecstasy during intercourse but that is not true,” he says.
-The nairobian

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Angry husband beats up ‘sex stimulant’ herbalist

A passenger attacked a herbalist aboard a Rongai bus after he forced his wife to buy a ‘sex stimulant’. A witness told The Nairobian, that the smartly dressed herbalist boarded the bus at the Railways bus terminus. Carrying a large bag containing his herbal medicine, he convinced passengers to buy the products. “He was selling different varieties of products.  Some, he claimed, cure persistent coughs, low libido, headaches, body oduors and even smelly feet,” said the witness. The man approached one of the young women and tried to convince her to buy his ‘libido stimulant’ for her husband.
“Some of these Nairobi men are poor in bed. Get some for your husband today,” he told the young woman. Unknown to him, the woman was seated with her husband who was angered by his claims. The man grabbed the herbalist by the collar and beat him up. The driver was forced to pull over forcing the herbalist to alight from the bus.
-www.standardmedia.co.ke

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Why rail project could be Kenya’s biggest scandal yet

The controversy over Kenya’s second railway tender is expected to escalate following fresh revelations that the State Law Office had raised a stink over what it terms exaggerated construction costs.

The red flag, according to documents seen by The Standard on Saturday, was raised long before the construction was commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta in November last year.

The new revelations may come as a slap

in the face of the President and his deputy, William Ruto, who during their recent tour of Rift Valley berated Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter for allegedly raising the issue at the behest of opponents of the Jubilee.

In a comparative analysis of the cost of the railways Kenya and Ethiopia are building, the Attorney General Githu Muigai raised serious integrity questions about how the total cost rose from the initial Sh220, 921,502, 221.08 quoted by China Road and Bridge Corporation in its acceptance of the tender award letter dated July 2012 to the current Sh1.3 trillion.

The variations are shaping the railway project into the country’s biggest financial scandal, beating the Goldenberg, Anglo-leasing and Triton frauds.

The tendering concerns are informed by a comparative analysis of the railway projects being undertaken by Kenya and Ethiopia. While the Kenyan one is of inferior technology and covering half the distance Ethiopia is constructing, it was expected to cost the government $3.804 billion (Sh334.8 billion) compared with $3.9 billion (Sh343.2 billion) used by Ethiopia.

The documents further show the locomotives and rolling stocks that include 56 diesel locomotives, 1,620 freight wagons, 40 passenger coaches and one simulator would have cost $1.147 billion (Sh100.936 billion).

The Ethiopian locomotives and rolling stocks consisting 35 electric locomotives, six diesel shunting locomotives, 1,100 freight wagons, 30 passenger coaches and one simulator will cost $230 million (Sh20.24 billion). Construction of the 485km Kenyan railway will require $2.657 billion (Sh233.816 billion) compared with Ethiopia’s budget of $3.67 billion (Sh322.96 billion) to build 756km from Addis Ababa to Djibouti port on the Red Sea coast.

The review upwards of the railway budget elicited questions from managing director of the Public Procurement Oversight Authority MJO Juma, who since March this year has unsuccessfully sought answers from the ministry over the discrepancies in the tender and raised the matter of the variations in tendering with the AG.

The railway project scandal is a continuation of a “tradition” that began in 1992 which demonstrates that every time a new regime ascends to power its first mega financial undertaking is a rip-off of the Exchequer.

In a letter dated March 7, 2013, Mr Juma wrote: “We have not had sight of the resultant contract signed between Kenya Railways and M/s China Road and Bridge Corporation following the negotiations of the grant between the two governments. In the absence of the contract, we are unable to discern the negotiations and contractual terms agreed between yourselves and the contractor to enable us to determine the applicability of or otherwise of not only Section 6 (1) of the (Public Procurement and Disposal) Act.”

In his reply, Prof Muigai termed the process as inconsistent with the law.

“I must record that it is worrying that a procuring entity can pick and choose to alternate procurement methodologies as alleged over the same subject matter and both of which alternatives require external endorsement because neither alternatives admits open competition,” he says.

The chief government legal advisor goes on to debunk the explanation given by Transport Secretary Michael Kamau that deal was government-to-government agreement. He argues that the idea should have been sealed through a treaty.

“Are G-to-G a method of procurement or would such agreements merely form the basis of future traditional procurement under various areas of cooperation documented under the G-to-G? More worrying is the increasing phenomenon of government agreements employing G-to-G tool to circumvent the requirements of the…(law),” he explains.

Annulled and varied

It is against this backdrop the State Law Office has done a comparative analysis of the Kenya and Ethiopian railway projects.

The two have argued that tendering process was irregular, although in documents seen by The Standard on Saturday, the former Kenya Railways Corporation Managing director Nduva Muli explained the variation of the procurement procedures as informed by the fact the project is government-to-government deal.

In his response to a request for advice sought by the PPOA boss, Prof Muigai describes as irregular the G-to-G procurement process, saying it was not a treaty between the Government of Kenya and China.

In a letter acknowledgement of the contract award, China Road and Bridge Corporation (Kenya) General Manager Li Qiang, says: “We hereby give a formal unconditional acceptance of the award of the project…exclusive of all taxes, duties and other levies such as value added tax, customs duties withholding tax, etc.” the letter puts the total cost of the railway project at Sh220 billion.

According to the November edition of Fortune magazine, the Ethiopian project was to cost $2 billion (Sh176 billion) to link Djibouti to the Ethiopian capital, which includes additional works.

Despite the questions being raised in Parliament how the figure jumped from Sh220 to Sh334.8 billion then Sh1.3 trillion, the Jubilee government maintains the deal was above board.

The initial contract was annulled and later varied by former Transport Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere. Mwakwere, following investigations by Inspectorate of State Corporations is remembered for similarly varying a tender for supply of two ferries for which the state paid Sh1.2 billion instead the initial Sh800 million.

The project was given the nod despite Prof Muigai and Mr Juma’s, queries about the mode of tendering, which they adjudged as irregular as it failed to meet laid down regulations.

In their correspondence with managing director of Kenya Railways Corporation Nduva Muli (who incidentally is Transport principal secretary), Prof Muigai and Mr Juma query how and when the cost of the railway was varied from the initial Sh220 billion.

The same queries were raised by Mr Ruto, despite attending the ground-breaking ceremony of the project expected to conclude in 2017.

The latest queries come on the back damning accusations and counter-accusations of corruption between Jubilee coalition partners over the tender.

-www.standardmedia.co.ke

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Three police bosses dismissed after being found unsuitable to hold office

Three senior police officers have been sent packing in the latest phase of institutional reforms designed to rid the service of corrup

tion, incompetence and a history of human rights violations.

The officers were retired from service after failing in the vetting process by the National Police Service Commission (NSPC), it was announced yesterday.

Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police Francis Okonya, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of police reforms Jonathan Koskei and Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police in the office of the Inspector General of Police Peter Eregae were all found unsuitable to serve.

They were the first casualties of the vetting exercise, which kicked off in December, to establish officers’ suitability for the jobs they currently hold.

Those who survived the chop were General Service Unit (GSU) Commandant William Saiya, Kiganjo Police Training College Commandant Peter Kavila, the Director of the Small Arms Secretariat John Patrick Ochieng and Abdi Shurie of the Administration Police Training College.

The commission made the announcement yesterday at their offices in Westlands, Nairobi, after evaluating the officers’ performance during the interview.

“We have informed all the affected officers on how they performed and those not happy with our verdict can appeal,” said commission chairman Johnston Kavuludi.

The vetting standards included officer’s satisfaction of entry and training requirements, their professional conduct and discipline, integrity, financial probity, and respect for human rights.

Those removed from the service will have the opportunity to appeal the panel’s findings during vetting review. Among the NPSC members are retired Justice Sarah Ondeyo and former Deputy Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority John Mutonyi.

The stage is now been set for the vetting of the second batch of other senior police officers, which starts next week.

The commission has already asked Senior Assistant Commissioners of Police and Assistant Commissioners of police in both regular and Administration Police to return their vetting tools by next Tuesday in readiness for the exercise.

Yesterday, Kavuludi confirmed that the officers were informed to return the forms to the Skypark offices of the commission in Westlands ahead of their vetting.

The vetting of 26 Deputy Commissioners of Police will start on Monday before that of 66 Senior Assistant Commissioners of Police and 115 Assistant Commissioners of Police start.

This is expected to last for four to six weeks.

Apart from the public questioning, the officers were supplied with a questionnaire which among others sought to establish if the police officers have ever been involved in activities of illegal groupings, cartels, banned societies and political parties.

Those who have money stashed in foreign accounts were required to give details on the same and they were also asked to provide their bank accounts for the last two years.

The applicable vetting standards included officer’s satisfaction of entry and training requirements, their professional conduct and discipline, integrity and financial probity, and respect for human rights.

Officers who satisfy the Commission with regard to competence and suitability will be retained and those who do not will be removed from service.

The officers who have been successful in the vetting will automatically be named to the rank of Senior Assistant Inspector General of Police (SAIG) in a new structure.

  A new structure for the service has directorates at various levels.

 In the national structure, there will be 10 SAIGs. Two will be in the Inspector General’s office, four in the office of the Deputy IG in charge of police, three in the office of DIG for AP and one in the office of Director of CID.

“There will be four SAIGs in the office of DIG Kenya Police, namely the Principal Assistant, commandant GSU, Commandant Kenya Police College and Commandant Anti- Stock Theft Unit,” said commission chairman Kavuludi.

Defend

“There will be no group vetting but we will call each officer to come and defend him or herself. We are looking into the integrity and suitability of individuals,” added Kavuludi.

He added that the process and procedures would be consistently applied in accordance with constitution.

Those in the vetting panel include NPSC Commissioners Kavuludi, Ronald Musengi, Mary Owour, Mohamed Murshid, David Kimaiyo, Samuel Arachi, Grace Kaindi, Francis Muhoro, Benedict Nzioki, Nyumba Kumi initiative committee members Joseph Kaguthi (Chairman) and two members of his committee security expert Simiyu Werunga and former Criminal Investigations Department Director Francis Sang and former police officer Mike Harris and don Kimani Njogu.

-The standardmedia

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